Amuto Chronicles (discontinued)
by Lace Ashdown
Summary: Ikuto managed to escape from Easter even before the Guardians could defeat Gozen. He promised Amu he'd go back when he found his father. Three years later, Amu finds Ikuto hanging from her ceiling again...
1. Chapter 1

**ME: Hello people! This is my first story of AMUTO. Hope you like it **

**Ikuto: Of course they would! You're my little sister!**

**Suu: Ikumi-chan is your sister~desuka?**

**Ikuto: Yes – WAIT! Suu? Which means **_**she's**_** here, too! *anticipating***

**(…)**

**Ikuto: *disappointed* Where's Amu?**

**ME: Actually… *grinning* **

**Suu: Amu-chan was so excited when she read the script~desu. So, she went to the salon first~desu.**

**Amu: *enters the room* SUU!**

**Ikuto: Amu~ *cuddles Amu***

**Amu: Ikumi-chan, help me! *struggles***

**ME: *evil smirk* We'll leave you two here so you can talk to each other.**

**Amu: Ran! Miki! Suu! Dia! Don't leave me here! IKUMI-CHAN!**

**ME: Onii-sama, we'll leave the disclaimer to you, alright? *leaves the room with Ran, Miki, Suu, Dia & Yoru***

**Ikuto: No problem! My beloved little sister, Ikumi, does not own Shugo Chara, the characters, etc. But she does own the plot, the other extra characters and this room. Enjoy AND don't forget to review. *smirks at Amu***

**Amu: *sob* *sob***

It's been three years now since Ikuto left to find his father. He hasn't called Amu for a while now.

_I wonder if he found him already. Oh, well! I'll be in High School soon. I bet he'll be surprised to see me with a knee-length hair._

She was out on her balcony, drinking milk when a certain blue-haired cat guy popped out of nowhere, "Yo,"

Amu almost choke as she saw Ikuto hanging from her roof once _again_, "Ikuto?"

"The one and only," he invited his strawberry in his arms where she happily leaped in.

The pinkette buried her face in his chest, "Wown dft yho comph baft?" she intended to say 'When did you come back?' but she was so longing to feel him again that she didn't even bother to lift her head up.

The cat guy stroked down her bubblegum hair, "I was back this morning. I wanted to see you right away but Utau said I should rest first," his eyes widened in surprise for a while but then, he smiled, "All these years, you never cut your hair, didn't you?"

She nodded, pulled away and then looked up to meet his eyes, "I wanted to have a new look when you came back," Ikuto smiled again when he noticed that she grew a few inches, too.

"So, did you find your dad?" anticipation filled the pinkette's eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her again and rested his head on her shoulders, "Yeah, actually, I found him ten months ago. He's in a small theater in Spain with my mom, now,"

Amu rested her head on his chest, "So, you really didn't think of calling me when you found him, did you?"

"It's not that I didn't want to, I just wanted to help my mom out," he leaned closer and whispered, "We had another sister, you know,"

The pinkette lifted her head with sparkling eyes, "You did?"

"Yeah," the he gazed at the stars, "She has a fair pink hair and cobalt eyes," then, he looked at her in his arms, "Almost like the child we will have," he smirked.

Amu pulled away from him, blushing a few shades of pink, "Pervert," she mumbled, then, opened her balcony door and went in. Though, she left it open meaning Ikuto can come in.

He walked in swiftly following his strawberry in her room. As he looked around and noticed something that made him smirk widely, "I like what you did to the place, but, what up with the pink and blue kitty cat motif?"

Amu sat down on a bean bag, grabbed the biggest stuffed blue cat and wrapped her arms around it, "Dunno," she shrugged, "When you left I suddenly got the liking to cats. Look, I even bought one from the pet store. Her name's Iku-chan," she said as she lifted a baby Siamese cat and cuddled it. She mumbled something like, 'You're so cute!' and then turned to the _other_ cat.

He was smirking. Evil smirk.

His eyes made her stutter, "W-What? What is it?"

Ikuto walked slowly towards her, almost lion-like, aiming for its prey. Iku-chan jumped off Amu's lap as she almost clawed the blue-haired guy when he captured her master's lips.

-Amu's POV-

What in the world? Why the heck is Ikuto kissing me? And why does it feel so heavenly?

HOLY CRABGRASS! And I'm actually kissing him back?

-End of POV-

Ikuto licked her lower lip as he pleaded entrance. She granted gleefully when she opened her mouth a few centimeters. Their tongues battled to their hearts content. Amu wrapped her arms around his neck and unconsciously kissed him back. They stopped for a minute or so, gasping for air. Then, suddenly, they heard little giggles and one little shrieking. It was their charas, who mostly probably have watched the whole thing.

Amu's four charas giggled like there's no tomorrow as they saw her blush a million shades of pink. Then, there's Yoru, who was uncontrollably shrieking in horror as he saw his owner smile in satisfaction.

"Amu-chan kissed her boyfriend!" the girls screeched in unison.

The pinkette blushed even more (if that was possible). She jumped to her bed, grabbed a pillow and shoved it to her red face.

"Oh, c'mon, Amu-_koi_, it wasn't _that_ bad," her 'boyfriend' said.

Still buried in her pillow, she screamed, "Fhwe toopht awjhanftvads oth meee!"

Ikuto lied down beside her and wrapped one arm around her waist, "What was that, my Ichigo?"

She took the pillow off her face and looked at him, "I said, you took advanta–" before she could even finish her sentence, a pair of cool, soft lips touched hers once again. But, it was merely a peck.

Ikuto stood up, leaving a bewildered Amu on the bed, "Y-You did it a-again!" she pointed at him accusingly after she lifted her body a little.

He gave her his signature smirk and suddenly jumped on top of her, "You want me to do it again?"

The pinkette froze underneath him and was unable to speak due to excess blushing. She was thinking how could that all happen so fast. Then, she woke up from her trance as she heard loud knocks on her door, "Amu-chan!" it was her mom, "Is someone in there?"

She pushed Ikuto in the closet and opened the door, "Hey, mom! W-What's up?" she sweat dropped.

Midori looked past her, then, looked at Amu when she saw no one inside, "I could have sworn you were talking to someone," she muttered, "Oh, well! Maybe it's just me. But, seriously, Amu-chan, what's with the blue and pink kitties?"

Amu thought for a while, then finally decided. "You see, I have a boyfriend, mama, and these cats represent him and me," she whispered.

Her mom's eyes sparkled with delight, "You do? Oh, I'm so happy, Amu-chan!" she dropped her laundry and hugged her daughter tight, "Tell me who it is. I need to know,"

"Tsukiyomi Ikuto," she whispered again.

Midori's eyes sparkled even more, "The one with the midnight locks?"

Amu nodded.

"Alright, alright, tell him to meet me this Friday, okay?" she leaped happily as she went down the stairs.

The pinkette just sighed in relief and locked her door shut. She almost jumped when she saw Ikuto leaning against the wall near her door, "Soooooo ~ I'm your boyfriend now and I need to meet your mom?"

Horror filled her eyes, she realized the consequences of her lie just now, "I-It was… I-I… Oh, think whatever you want!" she gave up after desperately thinking how to talk the cat-eared perverted guy out of it.

She pouted and crossed her arms when someone suddenly hugged her, "Aishiteru," Ikuto whispered as he cuddled her.

(A/N: If you don't know what '_Aishiteru'_ is, it means 'I Love You', 'Saranghae', 'Te Amo', etc.)

Amu felt roses bloom when she heard him say, 'Aishiteru'. It was a heavenly thought being with him right now.

The moment was ruined when Rima came smashing the glass of the balcony door transformed as Clown Drop. They both pulled away and looked at the little blonde's direction. She huffed and puffed, "Amu, it's Easter."

**ME: Yay! Chapter 1 done! *cheers with Ran***

**Ran & ME: Go! Go! Ikumi-chan! Go! Go! Ikumi-chan!**

**Miki: But, Ikumi-chan, why are we in the living room exactly?**

**Suu: Because~desu, Amu-chan and Ikuto-kun are being lovey-dovey in Ikumi-chan's room~desu.**

**Dia: That's right. We should not disturb young love. *giggle* *giggle***

**Yoru: You guys are weird~nya! Just tell Ikuto I went home already~nya.**

**ME: But, Yoru! You **_**are**_** home!**

**Yoru: Whatever~nya! I'll just go out for fresh air~nya.*goes out of the house***

**Miki: W-Wait for me! *chases Yoru***

**ME: Well, that leaves me, Ran, Suu & Di – Where's Dia?**

**Ran: She went back to her egg, Ikumi-chan.**

**Suu: Then, Ran and I are the only ones who will finish this. *worries***

**ME: It's alright, Suu. Go for it **

**Suu & Ran: REMINDER: Ikumi-chan does not own Shugo Chara or the characters. Please review. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Suu: Hello~desu! It's nice to meet you in this chapter, too~desu.**

**Ran: Ne, Ikumi-chan? Is your brother and Amu-chan still in the room?**

**ME: *goes upstairs***

***Amu screams* *glass smashes* *Ikuto yelps* *something rips***

**Ran: What happened in there, Ikumi-chan?**

**ME: *in shock* They're… They're destroying my room! *cries***

**Suu: Don't worry~desu. We will fix it later with **_**Remake Honey**_**~desu.**

***upstairs, glass smashes again***

**ME: *cries desperately* My life…is ruined! A-anyway, *sniff* I do not own any of the *sniff* characters **_**or**_** Shugo Chara. *sob* Please review. Thanks. *sob***

**Dia: *just woke up* Wha – Why is Ikumi-chan crying?**

RECAP:

_The moment was ruined when Rima came smashing the glass of the balcony door transformed as Clown Drop. They both pulled away and looked at the little blonde's direction. She huffed and puffed, "Amu, it's Easter."_

END OF RECAP

"Easter? Again?" Ikuto and Amu said almost in perfect unison.

Rima hunched her back and leaned on her knees, "Look…there…" she huffed, then, pointed at the Easter's main building. There they saw hundreds, no, thousands, no, millions of X-Eggs spinning around the building, creating a light tornado.

"Rima," Amu said looking back at her blonde friend, "What exactly happened?"

Being as tired and frail as she already was, Rima undid her transformation with Kusu Kusu who was also tired of fighting X-Eggs, "It's Gozen. He can't…no, he _didn't_ want to stop looking for the embryo…despite of his quite obvious defeat." She said between gasps for air.

After settling her breathing, she then, turned to Amu and Ikuto, "Nagi and I we're in a nearby store when Kusu Kusu and Rhythm sensed X-Eggs, We contacted the others," she lifted her head and looked Amu in the eyes, "Including you. But, your cell phone just kept on ringing,"

"It just rang and rang so we decided to call Utau instead. But hers was out of coverage,"

_Because she's in Spain right now._ Ikuto thought.

Rima's voice started producing little sobs as she continued, "We tried to fight the X-Eggs on our own even though we knew we didn't stand a chance against them,"

(A/N: This was before Nagihiko/Nadeshiko and Rima could do 'Queen's Waltz')

"B-But…there was nothing we could do, they were too strong, and then, it happened…the others got caught by the X-Eggs…T-There was no-nothing I could do about i-it…I was so…so…" she stopped as her voice cracked up, making her feel even worse. Rima fell on the ground and started crying.

Amu, who was clearly unsure of what to say, kneeled down to her friend and stroked her back, "It's okay, Rima, we're here now. Ikuto and I'll help,"

But the little blonde shook her head widely, "It's no use!" she cried, "Lulu came, but…but she…she c-can only do character ch-change. Then…then, it happened, a herd of X-Eggs were…were h-heading towards…me and Y-Yaya. We, t-tried to avoid it…but it was t-too late. L-Lulu, she…shielded us. T-Then…then, the X-Eggs…it went s-straight to her. Sh-She was hit…because of…because of MY WEAKNESS!" she continued to cry as she covered her face with her little hands.

The pinkette's eyes widened in horror, "S-Still, we can't lose hope, we need to save Lulu," even with depression, her facial expressions _indeed_ gave Rima hope, "Let's go,"

The Easter's main building was still surrounded by X-Eggs as three figures closed in. They were obviously gazing up at the millions of those horrible, black things when they heard a familiar girly screech – Yaya's.

"Yaya!" both girls chorused as they saw her nearly fell of the building but was luckily saved by a ninja-like shadow. Amu looked at Ikuto as she heard him character transform.

She turned to Rima and they nodded to each other. After she transformed with Ran, carried Rima up the roof and landed on top of it, she changed with Suu afterwards.

"Remake Honey!" she yelled pointing at a group of X-Eggs trapped by Rima using Juggling Party. They repeated the same actions with Ikuto until they heard a familiar laugh, "Hohoho! You cannot stop us! I never thought X-Eggs could be this powerful! This is amazing!"

The pinkette heroine lifted her head up the tower just to see a possessed-like figure looking almost like Lulu. _Or was it indeed her?_ "Amu," the possessed-like figure said angelically and reached out her hand to her, "Would you like to join me?"

Amu was startled to finally recognize the figure as it closed in. She was in some kind of a dress with ribbons and ruffles and was wearing a black flower in her head, identical to Lulu's flower.

"Lulu?" Ikuto gasped as the possessed girl landed on the ground, "What are you doing?"

"Ikuto-kun, I finally realized why you were so loyal to Easter. It was so much fun _this_ way," she said lifting her hands above her head. Soon, a bunch of X-Eggs came their way capturing Rima and Ikuto at a glance.

"WHAT THE FREAKING HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, LULU?" she little blonde exploded, "You're supposed to be one of us now, yet you are siding with Gozen again?"

Amu walked towards Lulu without hesitation and reached her hand to her, as well, "L-Lulu,"

The blue-haired guy's eyes widened, "No, Amu! Don't!"

"Stop Amu! Don't get caught in her gaze! AMU!" the blonde in a Joker's costume panicked. "DON'T YOU FREAKING _DARE_ SIDING WITH THE ENEMIES! Amu!" she yelled.

But, it was too late. Lulu has already sent dark thoughts in the pinkette's mind. Soon, her charas' eggs started concealing each of them and marking an X on the eggs one by one. As the process have finished, Amu's new X-Charas have popped out of their X-marked eggs.

The first one to hatch was Ran. She was still wearing the same outfit but her heart-shaped pin on her head changed to black and a white X mark was placed on top. Her clothes' color changed to hot pink and her hair and eyes, as well.

Miki hatched almost at the same time. Her aura changed to an even more timid and mysterious one. Her spade-shaped pin also became black like Ran's and her hair, eyes and outfit's color have darkened a bit, too.

Even Suu, who was the kindest of all, gave Rima chills as she stared right back at her. Her hair became platinum blonde and her clothes and eyes changed to moss green. She was scary.

(A/N: As for Dia, you guys might already know what she looks like as an X-Chara since she became one in the Anime/Manga. And I've also ran out of words. .)

"No way, AMU!" Rima tried her best to escape the X-Eggs but they were just so tied to her tight, "NAGIHIKO!" she gasped after yelling the Jack's name as she herself, did not know why she called out to him. Thoughts filled her mind and trance was broken when she heard slashing and breaking.

"Slash Claw!" Ikuto managed to escape but, alas, he could not free himself without breaking any eggs, "I'm sorry," he murmured then, turned to Rima and freed her, as well.

The little blondie ran towards Amu, who was clearly not-herself right now. She grabbed the pinkette's shoulders and shook her violently, "What the hell is happening to you, Amu? SNAP OUT OF IT! CAN'T YOU HEAR ME?" But, the pink-haired heroine stayed standing still and just stared back at her.

"Lulu is right. This is so much fun. Why don't you join us, Rima?" the new Amu said. Her voice had the same tone but it was really cold and husky. She reached out her hand to Rima who fell on the floor, hopeless.

She continued to sob, feeling weak and defeated, "J-Join you? Join…_you_?" her doubtful self muttered.

"Isn't it, you always said that wherever side I am, you'll surely join me? 'Cause we're friends, right?" her sentence was tempting…luring Rima out of her consciousness…making her feel Amu's right. Suddenly, she was reaching her hand out…reaching her friend's hand. But, an indigo-haired boy jumped out of nowhere.

"Rima-chan! DON'T!"

His voice woke Rima up from her trance, "N-Nagihiko?" soon she realized she was about to change sides.

Nagihiko rushed to her, "What are you doing, Rima-chan? Don't fall for it, too."

"Nagi," Amu muttered, "You can join us, too if you want. Besides, I already changed sides and Rima will soon, too. While Ikuto was already a part of Easter, anyway," her smile sent creeps to both of Nagi's and Rima's spines.

Ikuto, who was beginning to think this might be a good thing for him, slightly jumped to Amu's side, "I'm here, Amu," he said as he held her hand.

Amu grinned and reached her free hand to the both of them, "Will you please join us?"

The two stood still waiting for someone to wake them up from that horrible 'dream' – if it _is_ a dream. But there was nothing. And they almost gave in when, suddenly, a familiar figure ran towards them.

"Fujisaki-kun! Mashiro-san! DON'T!" Tadase came running, with bruises and scratches all over his body, "We can't lose to the–" he stopped as he saw Amu looking very different.

"A-Amu-chan?" he stuttered, "What's going on?"

(A/N: In case anyone is wondering why Tadase called Amu 'Amu-chan', REMEMBER: This is three years later. Which means he have already confessed to her)

A grin slid on Amu's lips, "Tadase-kun, would you like to join us, too?" she walked slowly towards the injured king, "You would like to join me, wouldn't you?" she gave him kitty eyes which made him twitch a bit.

"A-Amu-chan, this is not like you," he said feeling he should swipe her away from him, "P-Please, don't do this,"

Ikuto felt a little jealous of his Ichigo seducing that Kiddy King, "_Amu_," he leaped and held Amu's face closer to his.

And surprisingly, the pinkette didn't blush at all, instead, she even held the other side of Ikuto's face, "Yes, my _love?_" she emphasized the word knowing Tadase would be dead jealous of them.

_I could get used to this._ Ikuto's perverted mind thought.

"D-Don't you t-touch her! Tsukiyomi I-Ikuto!" Tadase yelled pointing accusingly at the couple.

Amu leaned on Ikuto's chest and faced the blonde king, "What do you mean, Tadase-kun?" she even closed her eyes at the heavenly thought, "We're lovers now, it's normal for us to do _this_," she faced Ikuto and kissed him firmly on the lips.

The Kiddy King gasped at the scene, "A-Amu-chan, I-I thought…w-we…were…" he couldn't continue his sentence as he has already fallen on the ground.

Amu pulled away from Ikuto and looked down on Tadase, "But, there's no 'us', is there, Tadase-_kun_?" she placed a finger on her chin innocently.

Rima stepped quickly towards her pinkette friend, "You're _too_ much, Amu!"

She reached the area with the stinging pain behind her bubblegum locks. She felt her cheek redden and eventually become numb as she realized what has been done to her.

_R-Rima slapped me?_

**ME: Okay, *sniff* so this chapter has tons of OOC-ness *sits on a bean bag***

**Dia: *pats my back* It's okay, Ikumi-chan. Look! Your room still looks like a room!**

**Miki: *glares at Dia* By 'room', you mean a stock room, don't you Dia?**

***Dia goes back in her egg***

**ME: It's alright, I can live with this. *picks up ripped curtain* I can do this – *weird surprised face***

**Ran: Ikumi-chan? *worried***

**Suu: Are you okay~desuka?**

**Miki: Does she **_**look**_** okay? *glare***

**ME: *curious* W-What's this? *picks up an egg from her seat***

**Ran, Miki & Suu: A Shugo Chara egg!**

**Suu:~desu!**

**ME: *happy* I wonder what's my chara like…**

**Crowd: Psssst! We're in the middle of a chapter right now. *sarcasm***

**ME: Oh, sorry, I almost forgot! The original characters and Shugo Chara is something that I do not own. But this egg is mine! *raises egg in the air* Please R&R. Arigatou! **


	3. Chapter 3

**ME: I'm so depressed… =_=**

**Utau: Ikumi? What's wrong? *worried***

**ME: Onee-chan! *hugs Utau and cries***

**Utau: Wha – Why are you crying?**

**ME: *continues to cry***

**Violet: *flies to Utau* I am Violet, Ikumi-chan's Shugo Chara. It is nice to meet you. *bows***

**Utau: Is this why you're crying? *pointing at Violet***

**ME: *shakes head* No, *sniff* actually, I was happy when I gave birth to them *sniff***

**Utau: Wait! THEM?**

**ME: *nods* I have five. *points at a bean bag with 4 unhatched eggs***

**Amu: *enters the house* What? That's more than mine!**

**Utau: *ignores Amu* So **_**why**_** are you crying?**

**ME: Onii-sama and *sniff* Amu-chan d-destroyed my room! *wails***

**Utau: WHAT? Ikuto! *flames behind her***

**Ikuto: *just got out of the bathroom* Wha – Utau? You're home early.**

**Utau: Early enough to find out what you two did to Ikumi's room! *pulls out daggers***

**Ikuto & Amu: U-Utau?**

**ME: *grins* It's payback time. *evil laugh***

**Violet: Uhmm…It's a mess right now. So, I'll just do the disclaimer. Ikumi-chan does not own any of the copyrighted things in the story. But, she does own me. On with the story *happy then, stop* Oh, and by the way, she wasn't able to update sooner because she got grounded from using the computer. *whisper* It was probably because she didn't study at all. Now, ON WITH THE STORY :D**

* * *

><p>RECAP:<p>

_Rima stepped quickly towards her pinkette friend, "You're too much, Amu!"_

_ She reached the area with the stinging pain behind her bubblegum locks. She felt her cheek redden and eventually become numb as she realized what has been done to her._

END OF RECAP

_R-Rima slapped me?_ Amu thought.

Her bangs covered her eyes as she backed away. The X-Eggs automatically purified themselves (**it's impossible, I know**) and went back to their owners.

"A-Amu, I'm sorry," the little blonde said, surprised to what she did herself. She tried to walk towards the person she slapped and reach her hand out to her, "I didn't…I didn't mean t-to…Amu?" Rima stepped back as she felt her hand slapped away.

"Ikuto," the pinkette muttered, forming her fists into balls.

Ikuto held her hand and picked her up bridal style, "Let's go for now," She clenched on his shirt and buried her head in his shoulders, nodding. Lulu followed them afterwards.

* * *

><p>"Rima-tan?" Yaya came running with Kairi towards Rima and the others, "The X-Eggs have been purified!" she exclaimed looking around. The rooftop was now cleared of X-Eggs and everything was remade due to Amu's earlier <em>Remake Honey<em>'s.

But, Kairi noticed something very unfamiliar, "Was it Hinamori-senpai?" (**Kairi didn't like Amu in my story**) He felt there was someone missing and, indeed, he was right.

The three remained silent as their two kohais stared back at them. (**kohai=underclassman**) No one tried to utter a word as all of them were at shock and in despair of what happened a while ago.

"Fujisaki-senpai, don't tell me she's the one we…" the little ninja was cut in when Rima fell on the ground. She was probably trying her best not to fall but failed herself because of the thought she had slapped Amu.

"Rima-chan!" Nagihiko said as he catched the fallen blondie. Worry filled his eyes as he stared back at their queen, who was clearly not in the state to talk to.

Tadase was still shocked at what happened. Yet, he regained his kingly image and finally spoke, "Perhaps we should head to our house to talk,"

"I agree," Kairi said as he pushed his eye glasses up his nose bridge.

* * *

><p>The blue-haired cat stared blankly at Amu while she kept turning around his bed, asleep. He held her hand tight just like she requested before fainting. She's been sleeping for five hours now and the effect of the X-Energy on her and her charas haven't worn off yet – which worried Ikuto the most.<p>

"Ikuto!" she gasped, finally waking up from her deep sleep. She sat up and hugged _her_ blue cat. His warmth affected her dearly and she slowly sunk down his chest.

He combed her strawberry hair and patted her back, "I'm here, Amu," he whispered. Ikuto felt helpless as he could not do anything to ease his Ichigo's pains.

The pinkette clenched on her chest and made a pained face. She slowly broke apart from his embrace and breathed heavily, "M-My chest…hurts," she fell on the bed yet, once again. Ikuto lied down beside her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "It's like something's burning…inside my chest," she said between huffs.

"It will be alright, I promise you," he kissed her forehead and rested his chin on her head to make her feel safe, "I'll take Lulu and you to Easter and after they erase your other pains, everything will be fine,"

"What are you doing, Ikuto~nya?" Yoru whispered at his owner, "You're letting _that_ happen~nya?" the chibi cat sounded very scared.

He placed one finger on his chara's mouth to shut him up, "This is the least painful solution I could think of right now," he was hurt seeing _his_ Amu pained like that and there was nothing stopping him from protecting her. Even if it costs him his life.

"But–"

"She'll be fine. I'll watch her 24/7 if I have to," Ikuto assured.

His chara shrugged, "I have a bad feeling about this," and went back to his egg. While his owner, snuggled in Amu's hair as she slept soundly in his arms, finally breathing normally.

* * *

><p>"Is that really what happened, King?" Kairi placed his cup on the table as Tadase had finished telling them what happened to their Joker. His expression was a bit nonchalant but there was still concern mixing with his blank face.<p>

The king nodded wearily and looked at Rima who was curled up to a ball and had stayed in one corner ever since they got there. She had stopped sobbing yet she remained silent.

Everyone was in a deep thought when Yaya suddenly produced little sobs, "B-But, she's the heroine! She can't do that! She can't side with the enemies at all costs!" she was panicking and it was unlikely of her.

Nagihiko looked up and then, down again, "It's my fault. If I had come a little earlier, none of these would've happened," he felt useless at the time.

"None of us are at fault. Even Amu-chan. She didn't choose to side with them. I just know it. It must be the X-Energy Lulu had put to her," Tadase said calmly. He was _indeed_ suited to be a king.

Neither of them spoke. Then, each one of them was surprised when the queen finally stood up and cleared her face of tears, "We can't just sit here doing nothing. We should go and help Amu to get back to her old self," she said confidently.

"Rima-tan's right!" Yaya exclaimed, almost regaining her usual self back, "Let's go and save Amu-chii!"

Kairi smiled and pushed his glasses to his nose bridge yet, again.

* * *

><p>Amu woke up as she felt cold air brush her face. Only to find out that someone with midnight locks was carrying her while jumping from roof to roof. It was already dark but she could still see who was carrying her around.<p>

She swiped her hair away from her face and grinned slyly, "Where are you taking me, Ikuto-_koi_?" her voice was seductive and innocent at the same time.

Ikuto's worried expression changed to a deviously smirk, "Somewhere I can have you all for myself," he said to her. He had never imagined Amu acing like that _ever_.

"Sounds _scary_," she said sarcastically. Ikuto gave his signature smirk and opened his mouth but closed it again as he saw a glimpse of Amu's X-Charas. X-Miki flew nearer to Amu's ear and whispered something to her. The pinkette only grinned and nodded.

Curious, the blue cat asked, "What did she tell you?" He landed on a tall building's rooftop and set Amu down.

"She said it was probably the wisest to make up with the Guardians and figure out their weaknesses," she said, toying with her long hair. She swirled and swirled around as she waited for _her_ cat.

Ikuto grabbed her wrist lightly as she stopped swirling and dragged her down the stairs, "And you agree with her?"

"Yes," she mumbled nonchalantly.

They were in front of a rosewood double door when he let go of her wrist. He never said a word. Yet, Amu could feel he was mad about something, "We're here," he said silently.

"I believe this is Gozen's office, Amu," X-Dia said as she touched the door and flew back to Amu.

Without a word said, the pinkette pushed through the doors and welcomed herself in. She marched straight inside and never bothered to knock.

"Tsukiyomi Ikuto," a broad male voice said, "What brings you here?"

_So he's Gozen._ Amu thought.

Ikuto kneeled down and gestured Amu to move forward, "This young lady wishes to join us," (**sorry for the OOC-ness**) The long-haired pinkette got kind of pissed as she felt she was like being offered to Gozen but she maintained her poise.

She bowed princess style, "A pleasure to finally meet you, Gozen,"

"Hmmm…Hinamori Amu," he breathed, "What makes you change sides all of a sudden?"

The long-haired girl smirked, "_Because_, my Ikuto also works for Easter and the Guardians are of no longer use to me,"

"Very well," the voice chuckled a bit, "Kazuomi, bring her to the lab,"

A middle-aged man walked in from the dark side of the room and grabbed Amu by the elbow, "Follow me," Though she thought the man was a little harsh, she still followed him as he instructed.

As they got out of the room, she noticed Ikuto wasn't coming along, "Ikuto?" she called. The blue-haired guy only looked back at her and said nothing, his expression emotionless. Amu frowned but still followed the man dragging her.

* * *

><p><em>Change your mind now, Amu-chan.<em> A very familiar voice said inside her mind. It had a cool, caring tone with it.

_You can do it, Amu-chan!_ This one's encouraging and energetic.

_Amu-chan…_ The voice was sweet, modest and kind at the same time.

The pinkette tried to remember whose voices those belong to as Kazuomi, the Director of Easter, casually dragged her to the laboratory – where her other emotions will be taken away.

_Your inner shine is still within you._

"Dia!" she gasped, returning to her old self.

Kazuomi frowned, "What?" Later he did realize, that Amu had returned to her old self.

A rubber duckie flew across the hall and knocked the director unconscious. The X's on her charas had been removed and they all went inside their eggs, "Huh? What's happening?"

"Amu-chii!" an all-time familiar voice called to her.

She flashed a wide smile as she saw Yaya and Kairi run towards her, "You guys! How did you get here?"

"Let's just say the Queen and the new Jack had some acting to do," Kairi said as he grinned a little bit.

"Where's Tadase-kun?" Amu said and looked past the two of them. Not noticing that the director had already regained consciousness. He grabbed the pinkette and held her by her neck using his arm. Then, he drew out a pocket knife and pointed it on her heart.

"Hinamori-senpai!" Kairi shouted and tried to step forward.

Kazuomi backed away and grinned, "Remember, Easter has Ikuto," he whispered, "If you want us to let him go, you have two options. It's either you join us or you bring Hotori Tadase's corpse to my office,"

A single drop of water fell from Amu's eyes as she nodded. The director let go of her and went inside a metal door.

Yaya rushed to her, "Are you alright, Amu-chii?"

Nothing would come out of her mouth and so, she just nodded.

_Ikuto or Tadase-kun?_

* * *

><p><strong>Violet: 3<strong>**rd**** Chapter officially done! Yeay for Ikumi-chan!**

**ME: Yeay!**

***Red egg hatches***

**Violet: Ikumi-chan! The red egg hatched!**

**Flaira: Hello, Ikumi-chan! I am Flaira! It's nice to finally meet you **

**ME: *astonished* Cool! Your hair is flaming red! Nice to meet you, too.**

**Utau: *comes in the house with a bloody dagger in hand* I'm…home, Ikumi. *exhausted***

**ME: Onee-chan! Don't tell me you killed them both…**

**Utau: I didn't. I just–**

**Amu: *comes in the house, unharmed* Cool! A new egg hatched!**

**Ikuto: *comes in with blood all over* … *faints***

**ME: Onii-sama? *worried a bit***

**Amu: What did you do to him, Utau?**

**Flaira: He's just faking, Amu-chan.**

**Utau: Yeah, he is.**

**Ikuto: *stands up, pissed* I'm going upstairs.**

**ME&Amu&Violet: o.O**

**Flaira: Please review. Arigatou **


	4. Chapter 4: Thou Hast Not Lov'd

**CHAPTER 4:**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**So yeah. After the long years of waiting, here I am, finally back to entertain you guys :) Though I warn you that this story is going to have really slow update because I didn't really find the stupid notebook. I'm going to make a new plot, which means it would probably make me slow down a little on updates because I have 4 stories to write and classes on top of that. Maybe every twelve days or so. I'm not really sure. Anyways, I hope you guys still remember me :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Amu ran up her room as fast as she could without even acknowledging her parents and Ami downstairs. She was so frustrated with herself that as soon as the door shut behind her, all she could do was cry. Her heart instantly broke for the two boys she cared about.<p>

_How can they be so cruel like this?_ She thought.

She climbed up her bed, grabbed the nearest pillow she could get and buried her face into it, muffling her screams and cries. The thought of picking between Ikuto and Tadase was more than enough to make her heart ache. Now she had to choose who gets to live and who gets to die? Could the world be crueler than it already was?

She didn't even notice that her charas were still inside their eggs. Amu was completely devastated over what was happening. The pinkette was pretty much sure Ikuto would not want her to kill Tadase because of him. He knew it would scar her for life. And Amu knew that was probably true, too. Yet, she knew deep inside, Ikuto wouldn't want her to join Easter, too. If she decided not to do anything, she was pretty much sure they would mercilessly end Ikuto's life. Amu couldn't let that happen – not when they were finally together again. And this time it was for real.

A knock on the door woke her up from her desperate thinking.

"Amu-chan, dinner's ready," her mom's voice suddenly dragged her down the reality that she was at home.

She lifted her head off the pillow. "I'll be down in a sec!"

Luckily, her voice didn't betray her. The least she wanted right now was to drag her family into the mess she was in.

And so, Amu dashed to the sink and splashed some cold water to her face, hoping for the love of man to make her blotchy face look normal again. Alas, there was no use. Her eyes were all puffy because of crying and her nose was still runny. She dashed back to her room and grabbed a pair of thick framed glasses to shield her eyes from unwanted attention and went down the dining table.

"Onee-chan, hurry up! The fwood will get cowld!" Ami scolded her big sister.

Amu ignored her cute sister's scolding and sat beside her. She silently said 'Itadakimasu' with them and proceeded to eating – if turning her food over and over even qualified as eating.

Her father noticed this and clamped his hand over Amu's outstretched hand. "What's wrong, Amu-chan? Why aren't you eating anything?"

The wrinkle on her father's forehead alarmed Amu. If she acted like she had any problem, the case with the Guardians and Easter would be dug out. She had to act normal.

"Nothing, Dad. I'm just not hungry. That's all," despite her desperation she even managed to fake a brilliant smile to her family.

Both parents nodded and continued eating. It was not like their daughter was always the hungry one, anyway. (Or so they thought)

Without even picking up a single piece of fish to eat, Amu dropped her chopsticks to the side and wiped her mouth. "Thank you for the meal," she said and headed straight to her room.

* * *

><p>Loud rapping on her balcony door's glass woke Amu up from her uncomfortable sleep. Unconsciously, she was thankful for whoever woke her up. Sad, depressing nightmares clawed at her in her sleep and she was desperately wanting to wake up but failed to do so. That knock was what helped her out of that.<p>

Groggily, she stood up from her bed, distantly noticing that even with her depressed state, she was still able to change into her soft pink night gown. Amu walked towards the balcony and open it, not even bothering to look who came to see her.

"I see you've been told,"

That voice made shivers crawl on her skin, the ends of each hair suddenly pointing up. She snapped her head to that person's way just to confirm her assumption.

"I-Ikuto?" Amu couldn't believe her eyes. How could the man she was desperately trying to find a way to save was here in front of her? Did he possibly manage to escape?

She ran to him and touched his face, ensuring to herself that this person, in fact, was not just some product of her over-devastated imagination or that she wasn't hallucinating at all. Cold skin gently touched her warm hands, making her flinch for a moment. Her hands travelled down his neck, to his shoulders and down his chest all the while never taking her golden gaze away from his penetrating dark eyes.

Amu hitched her breath when Ikuto suddenly too her into his arms, his chest feeling all ton warmer than any other part of him. He wanted to reassure himself she was real, too. That she somehow managed to escape that brutal fate he couldn't believe he let himself choose for her. He wanted kick himself over and over every time he remembered letting Kazuomi take her to the lab, making her permanently Easter's. It was a good thing those kid Guardians came to her rescue. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to let himself live if Amu was changed like that.

Amu broke away from their embrace that seemed to last for an eternity and searched Ikuto's eyes. "How did you-"

She was silenced by the black, metallic collar-like thing circled around Ikuto's neck as her eyes somehow dropped to it. What was that?

"I don't want to burden you like this, Amu. If you can't decide, I'll understand. I don't want you to do something you'd regret later on," he said, perfectly answering Amu's unvoiced-out question.

"They put a tracker on me so that they knew I couldn't get away. It's not like I'd live Yoru there, though," he continued.

"Y-Yoru's there?"

Ikuto nodded, his midnight hair moving gracefully like a whip. "They used him as somehow a collateral,"

Tears welled up in Amu's eyes again as soon as she looked down on the floor. She knew Ikuto must've been really in pain, leaving his chara behind. Yoru was a part of him as Ran, Miki, Suu and Dia were part of her, too. She knew how it felt to know your chara was in danger and not to be able to do anything about it.

She cried for Yoru.

She cried for Ikuto.

She cried for the decision she was about to make.

And she cried for herself.

Ikuto lifted her chin up so that she'd look her in the eye. He was annoyed as to how he managed to make her cry again. Distantly, he called that she always cried for him.

"_Nakanaide_," he said as he wiped a tear away from Amu's cheek, "I don't like seeing you cry,"

**(nakanaide = don't cry)**

Amu tried her best to keep the tears from falling and successfully did so. She closed the balcony door and locked her other door to the hallway of their house. My hand reached for Ikuto's and he willingly gave it to her.

"Sleep with me?" she innocently requested.

Ikuto, like the pervert he was, couldn't believe what he was hearing. He turned his head away to hide the flushed expression he had. He wasn't sure what led to this but this surely was confusing him a lot. A part of him wanted to but a huge portion of him felt it was wrong to do it now. Especially-

Amu, who probably read Ikuto's expression before even he turned away, blushed a furious shade of red and swatted away his hand, making Ikuto jolt.

"N-Not like _that_," she stammered, "I literally meant _just_ sleep,"

"Of course," Ikuto said, already back to his teasing self, and climbed on the bed after he took off his shoes.

How was it possible that she actually fell in love with this person? She didn't know. But still, she climbed on the bed with him. Ikuto guided her head on his shoulder and she let her snuggle on his chest, making herself comfortable with him on her bed. It amazed Ikuto as to how their bodies fit, like jigsaw puzzles joined together. He took her into his arms and embraced her as she fell asleep.

_It was good while it lasted_.

* * *

><p>Amu knew Ikuto would be gone the moment she woke up in the morning. And she was right. The stealthy cat left her while she slept and she didn't know how to feel. She wanted to have him near her for as long as she could but she also didn't want him to know that she didn't want to choose between him and Tadase.<p>

Amu was afraid she'd lose him anymore than she would if he found out. And she couldn't afford that.

The walk to the school was a long, depressing one. With every step she remembered Ikuto and how she felt for him. And it only broke her heart more than it already was. Her mind drifted to Tadase. She definitely still had feelings for him, too. Distantly, she thought that if loving two persons at the same time made her a loose girl.

_Is it even possible for me to like them both?_

Her thoughts scrambled out when she bumped into someone's back. She dropped her bag and fell down the ground.

"Oh, Amu-chan! Gomenasai," a familiar voice apologized to her as she felt herself being helped up.

Amu's golden eyes lifted up. _Indigo hair_.

"Nagihiko," she mumbled, "Sorry, I didn't see you,"

The boy gave her a quizzical look that said 'why do you look like that?'. She decided to give him the brightest, fakest reassuring smile she could ever muster to make him shake that look away. Alas, her acting skills were in rags compared to a pro. And so, the indigo-haired boy clearly saw through her act.

"What's the matter, Amu-chan?"

With a friendly voice like that, she couldn't possibly be able to resist being secretive to this person. Yet, for the sake of everyone, she held back. She couldn't dump her problems on Nagi. Even when he probably was the closest connection she had to his twin sister, Nadeshiko.

**(A/N: Amu still doesn't know that Nadeshiko and Nagihiko are one person in this story. Please don't get confused. The only story I wrote that had Nade and Nagi really become twins was the HA: PMR)**

"It's nothing," she said and walked away.

* * *

><p>Tadase called up a meeting in the Royal Garden despite the fact that everyone already went to Seiyo High. Amu didn't know what they were going to talk about but she still went out of respect for the former King.<p>

The meeting in the Royal Garden was no help in making her lighten up like it used to. Rima's jokes were too bland for her; Yaya's childishness made her somehow irritated; the other charas were too noisy for her; and Tadase's voice didn't even manage to soothe her.

She felt like she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry all over again.

"Amu-chan, can we talk for a second?" Tadase politely offer his hand as he stood up, "Privately?"

Amu felt the need to get away with all the commotion, too. She took Tadase's hand.

They walked farther into the garden, silence slowly taking in its reign. As they continued walking, Amu suddenly had to feeling to confide everything to Tadase. But it wouldn't be fair to him if she told him about the exchange Easter wanted her to do. So, she kept her mouth shut.

"Amu-chan," finally Tadase spoke up.

They were in the middle to the garden now. Everything they saw were plants, plants and plants.

"Yes?"

Tadase looked straight into her eyes, uncertainty and confusion evident in his stare. "The thing you said back when we fought Yamamoto-san (Lulu)...it's not true, right?"

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong>

**Yeah! First update for 2014 :) Please R&R, you guys. Thank you :)**

**With all the love for writing,**

**Lace Ashdown**


End file.
